Implantable fluid delivery devices are used to treat a number of physiological, psychological, and emotional conditions, including chronic pain, tremor, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, urinary or fecal incontinence, sexual dysfunction, obesity, spasticity, or gastroparesis. For some medical conditions, an implantable fluid delivery device provides the best, and in some cases the only, therapy to restore a patient to a more healthful condition.
An implantable fluid delivery device typically provides a patient with a programmable dosage or infusion of a fluid therapeutic agent (e.g., a drug in fluid form). The implantable fluid delivery device typically includes a reservoir, a fill port used to fill the reservoir with a therapeutic agent, a pumping mechanism used to pump the therapeutic agent from the reservoir, a catheter port used to transport the therapeutic agent from the reservoir via a catheter to a desired location within the patient's body, and electronics used to control the pumping mechanism. The implantable fluid delivery device also typically includes some form of fluid flow control in order to control or regulate the flow of the therapeutic agent from the reservoir to the catheter port for delivery of the therapeutic agent to the desired location within the patient's body. Implantable fluid delivery devices are generally used as part of a fluid delivery system, which may include additional components, such as an external programmer used to interact with the implantable fluid delivery device.